Book-holder.



E. GRAHAM.

BOOK HOLDER.

APPLICATION FILED APR.10. I917.

Patented 0ct.15, 1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

nvmv TOR lZZmer G/zzam WITNESSES ATTORNEYS E. GRAHAM.

BOOK HOLDER.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 10. 19M.

Patented Oct. 15, 1918...

3 SHEETSSHEET 2.

IN VE IV TOR A TTOR/VEYS ms "ORR/s FEHIK co. Puma-ulna. wAsMumnm. u. c.

E. GRAHAM. BOOK HOLDER.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 10. 19x7. v

Patented Oct. 15, 1918,

l, 4 whim" 5/ 46 1 ATTORNEYS an met".

ELMER GRAHAM, or WRAY, COLORADO.

BOOK-HOLDER.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, ELMER GRAHAM, a citizen of the United States, and resident of WVray, in the county of Yuma .and State ofColorado,-have, invented a new and Im proved Book-Holder, of which the following is a-full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to bookholders and and has particular'reference to a device'of this character intended for holding heavy volumes from which typewritten copies are to be made, as for example in abstract oflices.

Among the objects of the invention is to provide a holder for large and heavy books, so constructed that the bookwill always lie open flat irrespective of the thickness of the book or the'proximity of the work to be copied to either of the back boards.

Another object of the invention is to improve the v'ariousdetails ofconstruction including the line; :gage devices and the countenbalancing gneans for the book rest adaptin' the same to be elevated or lowered as. .may e desired;

lVith'the foregoing andother objects in view theinvention consists in the arrangement and combination of, parts hereinafter described and claimed, and while the inventionisnot restricted to the exact details of construction disclosed or suggested herein, still for the purpose of illustrating a practical embodiment thereof reference is hadto the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same Parts n v ral. i w and-in w ic Figure-,1 is a front elevation of a preferred embodiment of the invention, the book-rest being elevated and the line gage device being extended upwardly as in operating position. I

Fig.2 is a side elevation looking toward the left in F ig'. 1 and with parts broken away to show the construction.

3 is'a vertical sectional view of the counter-balancing drum on the line 33 ofFigrd V Fig L-isa horizontal section on the line HiQ Fia Us;

Fig. 5 isa transverse sectional detail of the line gage bracket on the line 55.of laig. 6 isa longitudinal section view of the same.

Fig. 7 is approximately a plan view of Specification of Letters Patent.

angularly disposed bracket 28.

5 and 6). This bracket 28 is of convexof Patented Oct. 15, 1918.

Application filed April 10, 1917. Serial N 0. 160,976.

the device as seen in the direction of the arrow 7 in Fig. 2; and

Fig. 8 is a rear perspective view of the book-rest supporting means.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings 1 show at-lO a rigid supporting frame of any suitable design or material,

but indicated as comprising a plurality of feet 11 and 12 and rear legs 13 braced'to the front foot portions bymeans of bracesli'. The frame also includes an upwardly proectlng runway 15 comprising two parallel bars U-shaped in cross section, as shown in Fig. 7. These bars are connected at their upper ends by a yoke 16 and are anchored at their lower ends to a pair of brackets 17 leading laterally to the front feet 11. The concave sides of the bars 15 are faced toward each other providing a channel or guideway for a carrier 18 which constitutes the main portion of my invent on. I Said carrier comprises an upwardly proecting rib 19 having rearwardly projecting pintles 20 and 21 on which are journaled a pair of anti-friction rollers 22 havlng their peripheries rolling in the channels formed in the bars 15". The rear legs 13 project upwardly. and forwardly merging into the bars15 just above their middle portions and hence the frame provides a rigid supporting structure for the carrier. The engagement between the peripheries of the rollers 22 and the runway obviates all likelihood of twisting or torsional movement of the carrier with respect to the frame. The rib 19 is provided with forwardly projecting lugs 23 and 24', and the pintle 21 projects rearwardly providing a means for attaching an anchor member 25.

To the lower end of the rib 19 is secured a forwardly and rearwardly' extending right (See Figs.

concave structure and upon the edges of, I

whichis mounted a slidable shoe 29 having flanges 30 overlapping the sideedges of the bracket. This shoe 29 carries a leaf spring 31, the rear end of which isanchored with in the shoe, while the outer free end con- Stitutes a head 32 pro ectable through an opening 33 in a bracket 34 constituting the base of the line gage device and pivoted at 32 to the front end of the shoe. The pivot 32 holds the outer free end or head portion of the spring elevated so that when the bracket 34 is swung upwardly from the plane of the shoe the head 32 of the spring will project through the opening 33 and snap into the bottom of the opening with the shoulder portions of the head engaging or interlocking with the bracket at the bottom of the opening. (See Figs. 1 and 6.) To release the line gage device to permit it to swing forwardly and downwardly, the operator has but to lift up the head 32 of the spring when the line gage device will be free to swing downwardly into substantiall the plane of the shoe.

T e bracket 34 carries a channel member 34 within which are pivoted any suitable arrangement of lazy tong devices 35 to the upper end of which is connected a bar 36 constituting the line gage proper and carrying finger pieces 37 for lifting it. One or more springs 31 resiliently connect the bracket 28 and the outwardly slidable shoe 29. These springs are indicated as being attached at one end to lugs 28 and at'the other end to the pivot 32. The normal tendency of the springsis to contract thebracket portions of the line gage devices tending to hold the line gage bar 36 against the face of the book.

The book support comprises a pair of wings 38 made of wood or any other suitable material and adapted to lie either in the same plane or in parallel planes and so mounted that either of the wings may occupy a plane in front of the plane of the other. The book support is mounted upon the carrier 18 above referred to and any suitable means may be provided to connect the book support to the carrier. To this end. however, I provide a double T-shaped rocker comprising an upright bar 39 to which upper and lower cross bars 40 and 41 are rigidly secured at right angles to the bar 39 and parallel to each other. This rocker device is pivoted coaxially of the bar 39 upon the lugs 23 and 24 whereby the book support is adapted to swing to a suitable angle around the axis of said lugs in either direction. The wings 38 are provided .with brackets 42 and 43 rigidly secured to their rear faces. The upper brackets 42 are pivotally connected at 44 to the ends of the cross bar 40 and thelower brackets 43 are pivoted intermediate of their ends at'45 to the ends of the cross bar 41. The brackets-v 43 are extended rearwardly. however, back of the plane of the runway 15 and to the rear ends thereofis pivotally connected at 46 a stay bar 47 which being parallel to the plane of the cross bars 40 and 41 serves to or in parallel planes. The stay bar is piv oted at its center upon the stud 26 extending downwardly from theanchor member 25. Along the rear portion of each of the wings is secured a channel member 48 adapted to receive one of the book covers and at the outer ends of the channels 48 are pivoted a pair of hooks 49. Each of these-hooks, as shown best in Fig. 2, is pivoted at 50 above the channel member and has a pit or recess registering with the interior of the channel but is adapted to swing forwardly and upwardly from such position as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2. r The rearward swinging movement of the hooks 49 is limited by an extension 51 at the lower outer corner of each wing.

The elevation of the carrier is determined by means of a strap 52 of leather or other suitable flexible material extending up and around a drum 53 and having its end secured at 54. The drum is'journaled upon a shaft 55 in a casing 56 just'back of the runway and at the upper'ends of the rear legs. 'The shaft 55 is horizontal and parallel to the plane of the runway, this shaft furthermore is concentric with the casing, but the drum 53 is eccentric to the shaft. The upper end.

of the strap at its point of connection 54 is located at the part of the drum having 1ts greatest eccentricity.

57 indicates a strong sp ral spring having one end secured at 58 upon the interior-of the drum and the other end secured at 59 to e the shaft55. The spring is coiled preferably around theshaft in the same direction as the strap 52 is wrapped upon the outside of the drum. The rotation of the'shafl 55 in clockwise direction to increase the tension upon the spring tends to elevate the carrier through the strap 52 attached to the anchor device 25. Any suitable means maybe provided to vary the tension of the spring and hold the shaft normally fromrotation. For this purpose I provide a crank 60 secured to a counter shaft'61 journaled in the lower portion of the casing'56. A pinion 62 is fixed upon the counter shaft and meshes with a gear 63"fixed upon'the mainshaft 55. Upon the rotation-of the crank as indicated by the arrows on Fig. 2 the force'of the spring is increased. After'the desired tension is provided for the spring thecrank may be locked beneath a keeper 64;secured to one ofthe legs 13.

Referring now to Figsf2 and 3 the pur pose of the eccentricity of thesprin drum will'be appreciated. With the carr1er'ele-.

vated as shown in Fig. 2, the spring will be in a position where it is relatively weak, but

in this position the drum is so disposed that the weight of thecarrieris'supported upon its shortest radius. If, however, the carrier.

be drawn downwardly to a lower positiongit must be so moved against the'forcetending to wind the spring and consequently the drum is rotated so that such superior force of the spring is counteracted by the carrier applied to the greater radius of the drum. By this arrangement therefore I provide that the carrier will remain elevated in any position to which it may be adjusted.

The purpose of the hooks 4:9 is to support the leaves of the book which, especially when the book is old and opened far toward the front or toward the back leaving most of the leaves on one side, are likely to droop or sag. The hooks hold the leaves in place taking the strain off the binding and keeping the leaves in position so that the line gage will follow the line perfectly across both edges.

I claim:

1. In a bookholder, the ombination of an upright frame, a book-rest supported upon the frame and comprising a pair of wings against which the book backs are adapted to rest in the same plane or in parallel planes, said book-rest including a pair of hooks pivoted on transverse axes to the lower portions of the wings, each hook having a recess to receive a book back and hold it close to the Wing to which the hook is pivoted, and also having a forwardly projecting finger to support the free edges of the leaves adjacent to such back.

2. In a bookholder, the'combination of an upright frame including a pair of spaced parallel bars constituting a runway, a carrier including a plurality of anti-friction rollers cooperating with said bars and movable longitudinally of the runway, a flexible member connected to the carrier, means including a variable spring acting upwardly upon the flexible member tending to elevate the carrier, and a book-rest comprising a pair of wings pivoted to the carrier and means serving to hold the wings in parallel planes at variable distances from the plane of the carrier.

3. In a bookholder, the combination of a frame including a rigidly supported runway, a carrier anti-frictionally supported in said runway, a book-rest connected to the carrier and comprising a pair of wings to support the back boards of the book in variable positions with respect-to the plane of the carrier, and means connected to the frame and to the carrier tending to elevate the carrier, said last mentioned means comprising an cccentrically mounted drum and a spring secured thereto, the drum being so mounted that when the spring is strongest the carrier will act upon that portion of the drum having the greatest eccentricity.

ELMER GRAHAM.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. 0. 

